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In a new column written by Dann Gire of the Daily Herald, Slow Motion is questioned as a passing moment in film history where it is overused and loses power and effect over time. We agree that some movies rely so heavily in slow motion effects that it becomes a primary role in the movie. Movies such as Sherlock Holmes and 300 1&2 take it above the regular mundane level and truly makes art out of the technique.

We feel that with the democratization of slow motion devices in consumer pockets with phones and now professional high-speed cameras are dropping in value while improving performance. We expect the slow motion trend of screen time will not diminish but increase for years to come as gear is now flooding the market with high frame rates.[...]→ Continue Reading Full Post ←

There has been a lot of work put it developing software that can interpolate frames for video editing and compositing applications. Twixtor in the late 90’s was perhaps the first time the technology could make something worthwhile and really produce acceptable results in a computationally acceptable timeframe.

Tony Nurthrup has created a video eulogy of the consumer cameras along with a long explanation of why the camera as we know it will cease to exist. It is not only about the form factor change and plethora of options but the ability of camera companies to make money from their camera lines.

There has been a continued drop in consumer cameras of all kinds including SLR or ILC systems sales since their peak in 2011. The smartphone is killing the camera and no matter how many phone like features like WiFi, Bluetooth or Social Media share are incorporated in compact cameras; they continue to go down in sales and swamping the bargain bins of oblivion.[...]→ Continue Reading Full Post ←

It is no small achievement to create a high speed camera of any kind; and to do it at 1/5th the regular price of competitive hardware is more of a balancing act between offering a robust product while still remain under budget. In our review of the edgertronic SC2+ Color we saw that the camera not only performed as advertised but exceeded our expectations when it came to image quality, dynamic range and dependability.

In this ten question interview we ask Mike Matter, the CEO of Sanstreak the parent company of the edgertronic camera and the main hardware engineer behind the edgertronic SC2 and SC2+ Cameras, what the camera means for the high speed market, competitors, clients and the motivation for the choices behind it’s design.[...]→ Continue Reading Full Post ←

Fuji got quite a few products out at CES 2016 for photographers but nearly all had no real slow motion capabilities except for the Fuji XP90 Rugged waterproof compact camera. It is the same 16.4 Megapixel CMOS sensor with 5x optical zoom and a pretty standard 28mm lens at the wide end as last year’s Fuji XP80.

It is still shockproof from 6ft, waterproof to 50ft and freeze-proof down to 14 degrees Fahrenheit. But aside from the harsh treatment capabilities the camera has a larger 3 inch screen vs 2.7″ on it’s predecessor and the 1080p video spec has been upped to 60p for a little slowdown.[...]→ Continue Reading Full Post ←

The VR of the 1990s was a certified gimmick ; technology wasn’t there for the most part and a simple system then by today’s standards was worth millions of dollars. Fast forward to 2011 when an inventive young man “only 18 years old then” Palmer Luckey built the first prototype of a VR headset in his parents garage. By the 6th generation prototype he named it the Rift and had a Kickstarter project to be able to launch to the gadget gamer community “raising US $2.4 million or 974% of its original target”.

John Carmack the genius programmer of ID software fame had an Oculus prototype headset and was blown away by it; he modded it to better performance and was able to run a Doom 3 edition on the headset in 2012. Carmack is now the Chief technology officer CFO at Oculus VR. The interest in VR intensified and blew up right after the adoption of the technology by some of the best minds in the gaming industry. Mark Zuckerberg was so into it and the possibilities it could bring to the future of social media that Facebook acquired Oculus VR for 2 Billion USD in March 2014. Talk about a successful meteoric rise for such a young company! [...]→ Continue Reading Full Post ←